Unfortunately, I was unable to see President Clinton's speech/sermon in person and all of the crazy weather-related venue changes have also forced me to watch President Obama's speech tonight on TV like everyone else.

I've already had the experience of seeing him live though so I can't really complain. However, with more time to go to New Jersey-specific events, like the delegate breakfasts, I've been thinking about the future beyond the convention and what role our little, solid blue state has to play in this coming election.

So, before heading back home, I spoke with some other fellow attendees and asked them what they thought.

"The role we're going to play is we're going to vote for the president and help him get re-elected," said N.J. Senate President Stephen Sweeney. "People get frustrated because 'oh we're at the back of the convention' and 'we're always the furthest away' but so are California and New York and Maryland."

Sweeney says that because states like New Jersey keep themselves dependable, the campaign is able to shift its focus to key, battleground states like Ohio, Florida, and Pennsylvania with its new voter ID laws. "They can spend their resources where they are needed and remind people what this president inherited. They are counting on us."

However, with Governor Chris Christie in power, N.J. Democrats can't always afford to take things for granted. "Sometimes we're in conflict because our governor is a Republican so we set forth a platform that says these are the things we believe in," said Ruby Love, member of the platform committee. Love says that New Jersey delegates' contributions to the national platform have been a way for them to help the campaign beyond the confines of their own state. "We stick together and try to help everyone succeed. We are one nation, under god, indivisible and we believe that everyone has the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."

With the convention winding down though, most agree that the best thing supporters can do now, in this state or in any other, is simply get the message out.

"We as delegates need to make sure that all the people who came out for President Obama last time come out plus the new registered voters who didn't have the opportunity to vote for him the first time," said first-time delegate Donald Payne Jr., president of the Newark city council and U.S. congressional candidate.

Many here in Charlotte also believe in the importance of voter turnout. The streets are filled with people offering to help register others right there on the spot. In the end, this election is about all Americans, not just any one state. "There are people from New Jersey spread all over the nation and we need to reach out to people that we know, get the word out and make sure that this president is re-elected."

Jordan Minor is a journalism student at Northwestern University and the son of Logan Township Mayor Frank Minor. Jordan will blog for us from the Democratic National Convention, to which he is a delegate, this week.